noline

Hello there, I plan to run asphalt touring this summer which car in your honest opinion would be better it does not matter if the coments of either car is negative Id like to hear your honest opinions.

StickyFingaz

iTrader: (17)

Had an XRAY 007 and I was thrown into the same dilemma; I definitely knew that I was going to be unloading the 007 to get something newer for asphalt season.

What was I going to replace it with? Buy the new XRAY kit and have to unload my old parts? Or go with something new?

Price was a huge motivator for me. Not really having tons of income, (I'm in college) every dollar that I have has to be allotted correctly or I'll be reduced to eating Cup'O'Noodles for two weeks straight (again!!... damn those dogbones, aluminum hubs and uprights that I just HAD to get). I really didn't want to leave the XRAY tent, as its fit and finish spoiled me, but if I had to I wanted to buy what I thought was the most car for the least amount of money.

After much deliberation, I decided the new Tamiya would be the only car that would make me put my XRAY towel on ebay. The parts, although hard to find still, are considerably less expensive than buying X-Team spares, so it was a no brainer. I had my local hobby shop order it for me.

First day outta the box, the car was almost dialed on a tiny tiny carpet track (rubber tires). Was merely "shaking down" the car... wasn't gonna chase it. I was racing on an aphalt parking lot the next day, and I wanted to see what the car could do out of the box.

Next day, ran 19T and Stock. Same car. Swapped motors in between heats. The car ROCKED! Shoulda put myself in better position to win (I was fast in both classes, was on TQ runs multiple times but let it slip away), but the car was a beast nonetheless. So much promise and potential... it's definitely exciting.

I went from an XRAY devotee (I still respect it and the philosophy Juraj has in designing all of his cars) to a recent TAMIYA convert. I say go with the TAMIYA. Great car, maybe not as nifty as the 008, but once parts circulation finally catches up the money you save in parts will be reason enough. Oh yeah, it's a good car too.

But then again, the 008 could be the greatest thing from sliced bread! What do I know, right? Can you test drive both? If only...

noline

great!! please keep the info coming

redbones

I debated on the xray too, but my LHS carried more tamiya so I went with the 416. You know, at the level these two chassis are at, it becomes more of a driver issue than anything. Layout is almost the same, quality, and potential are all top notch. I would depend on the LHS, and/or if you already had a tamiya car(you can use most of its parts). Or even base it if you want the blueness

syndr0me

iTrader: (32)

The 416 and its parts are significantly less expensive than XRay. I imagine the 008 has the edge in overall fit/quality, but they're pretty much the best in that regard, so if that's your primary motivation, go with XRay. I wouldn't call Tamiya a slouch in that sense, though, the quality generally seems very high. Tamiya makes a TON of cars with a ton of parts, many of which are shared between multiple cars. There's definitely a learning curve getting familiar with the parts and such, but once you get the hang of it, it's not too bad. If you're in the states, you may find yourself ordering some parts from overseas, which can increase your cost somewhat, but if you order a lot at once, it offsets the cost quite a bit.

In terms of performance, that's a wash. Both cars have won big races already. I think it would be foolish for anybody to try and definitively say one is more capable than the other. You can't deny XRay's online presence is more focused on racing, but there's a lot of Tamiya fans abroad, many of which are more than happy to help out. The 416 thread is a great source of information, and people there are more helpful than any other thread I've ever encountered on this site. Again, XRay's dedicated forum seems like a great resource, too.

For me, it ultimately came down to a choice of style. Tamiya seemed to better fit my mindset than XRay. I think that's an important factor everybody should consider when buying a new car. What feels right to you? I have no regrets at all about my choice. I'm certain I would like the XRay as well, but Tamiya felt like a better fit for me.

TryHard

iTrader: (4)

I'd pretty much agree with whats said here.

Ok, I'm a died in the wool Tamiya fan, and have been for years. However, both cars are very good, and always have appreciation for good engineering... put it this way, if there was no 416, I would be running an '08 probably.

I pit with a guy who runs an '08 at the local club, and we both seem to be close on speed (although his reliability is a bit worse, whether thats car or driver, who knows). The quality on both kits is high, and they also have good array of tuning options.

There are some little things on the Xray that I don't like, and some times the attitude from Xray themselves is a turn off, where it comes across like it's a privalage to be running one... Case in point being the recent pinion/spur debacle, where IMO, it seemed like they were blaming the racer for running 6cells, instead of going "yup, ok, we screwed up" (Before any I know this is probably not how it was ment to come across, but that the perception I got).

Having said that, support for the Tamiya is more...ermm... community driven shall we say, rather than direct manufacturer support. Parts for the Tamiya can be a little bit harder to get (especially in the UK, as the tamiya dist. doesn't support TRF's!), but there are plenty of overseas shops that can deliver in a similar time to national postage. Of course, you also have Tam USA, which is always good

In some respects, it comes down too style... do you want to go with silver or blue?

But, just remember Blue is Better

HiH
Ed

syndr0me

iTrader: (32)

That's actually what turned me off as well. There seems to be the smug sense of superiority that comes out of the XRay camp. I don't know if it's driven by the company itself, the drivers, or the distributors, but it's very palpable. I found that to be a big turn off, and actually the determining factor when trying to decide between an '08 or 416.

I don't mean this as a knock on XRay, because it's absolutely a fine car and company, and like Ed, I'd almost definitely be driving one if not for the 416. For whatever reason, though, Tamiya was more appealing to me. Perhaps it was the humble nature of the people that run the cars. Maybe it was childhood nostalgia from my very first car (Hornet). Maybe it was the thrill of using something that is relatively unknown, rather than driving the same car as everybody else. Whatever the case may be, I feel the decision was right for me.

So with that said, in the end, nobody can tell you what's right for you. The reality is that both cars seem to be similarly qualified on the track, so the decision really comes down to the intangibles.

tc3team

My first car was a Tamiya, my last will be a Tamiya too.

I have never known a Tamiya part to be faulty or poorly manufacured as its taken out the box, the finish is always top notch. The same can be said about missing parts. Never an issue. (Im not slagging off xray, just praising Tamiya ).

I have never liked xrays, I dont know why but there is just something about them I have never liked. I have seen more broken Xrays than I have Tamiyas in my time too, maybe that is just a coincidence though.

In the right hands the Xrays are just as capable as the 416 no doubt about it, but for me it has to be a Tamiya.

+1 on the blue is better here...

Ben.C

Tamiya..!

e' Nuff said!

Andyg01

Buy the car you can get the parts .. no parts, no racing as simple as that